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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27291157">Confidence Takes All</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkberrry/pseuds/inkberrry'>inkberrry</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Daggers and Dancing Lights [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Baldur's Gate, baldur's gate 3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Flirting, Fluff, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Mutual Pining, Tieflings, Will They Ever Kiss?, who knows - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:00:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,939</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27291157</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkberrry/pseuds/inkberrry</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Vehnrix had a way with people, one that drew them in, eased their worries, cloaked them in a feeling of peace and importance. It was hard not to be attracted to. </p>
<p>Gale certainly was, and the more he learned about the tiefling the stronger his feelings became.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gale (Baldur's Gate)/Original Character(s), Gale (Balur's Gate) / Original Male Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Daggers and Dancing Lights [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1992658</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Confidence Takes All</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>spoilers for act one of baldur's gate 3! </p>
<p>All my Gale/Vehnrix fic can now be found in the series 'Daggers and Dancing Lights.' I want to start a chapter fic about their journey too, but I think that will have to wait until the full game is out and I have a better idea of what happens. Until then, just lots of little connected one shots.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been a simple flick of the wrist, a barely hidden palming of one coin and the flipping of another. The tiefling child was practiced, but no expert. Even Gale noticed the switch, and he had zero doubt Vehnrix did, too. Still, after a little back and forth between the two tieflings, Vehnrix bought a handful of items from the child. Gale sensed no magic coming off of any of them, but Vehnrix paid whatever steep priced was asked.  </p>
<p>That had been two days ago. Yesterday Vehnrix risked falling prey to a pack of harpies to save a lured child. Gale had aided, of course, as had the others, but it had been Vehnrix scrambling up the cliffside as soon as he heard the song. His voice had rung out over the music and the waves, yelling for Shadowheart to <em>get the child away</em>. From there the battle went on, but each time Gale spared a glance at Vehnrix his eyes were darting back to the ground to make sure the young tiefling was still safe. </p>
<p>There was the girl, too. Gale had never seen Vehnrix angry before that. If he didn’t have such a good head on his shoulders Gale would have believed the things people said about tieflings after seeing Vehnrix’s eyes flash, his tail whip out, claws digging into his palm to control the rage. </p>
<p><em>“She’s a child,”</em> he had said, facing the druid woman who watched him, steady and cold. Gale thought they would have to fight the entire Grove then, as soon as Vehnrix spoke next.</p>
<p>But they hadn’t. The girl ran off, safe and sound. The druid wasn’t happy, he could tell that much, but Vehnrix managed to contain his anger and diffuse the situation. Once again no bloodshed, and a child back where they belonged.</p>
<p>And now here they were in some large cavern underground. Vehnrix was off in the middle of it, surrounded by a gaggle of young tieflings. Gale couldn’t make out what they were talking about, but every so often there were peals of laughter, or gasps of amazement. Vehnrix’s laughter was the loudest, echoing off the stone walls and the pools of water below them. </p>
<p>“If you stand with your mouth hanging open any longer I’m afraid you’ll forget how to shut it, and that would be a <em>great</em> disservice to us all.”</p>
<p>Gale jerked back, caught off guard by Astarion, who had managed to come up behind him. <em>Damned rogues</em>, he thought. <em>Was there no privacy to watch someone from a distance with them around? </em></p>
<p>“Astarion,” he said in greeting, turning away from the group of tieflings. He gave the elf a slight smile while idly running his thumb along the wood of his staff. “Is something I’m doing bothering you?”</p>
<p>“Do you think you’re being subtle?” Astarion snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. “Please. I can almost taste the desire you have locked in that body of yours.”</p>
<p>“An odd turn of phrase,” he said, raising an eyebrow and deflecting the comment as best he could. </p>
<p>“Do us all a favor and let it out, would you?” Astarion continued, ignoring Gale’s observation. He tilted his head and looked over at Vehnrix, who was now showing the children one of the many daggers he kept hidden on his person. “I don’t know how much longer I can stand watching the two of you flirt. It’s <em>exhausting</em> not stepping in and charming him away from you.”</p>
<p>At this Gale smiled fully. So Vehnrix had caught more attention than just Gale’s. He wasn’t surprised. Vehnrix had a way with people, one that drew them in, eased their worries, cloaked them in a feeling of peace and importance. It was hard not to be attracted to. </p>
<p>“Are you so certain you could?” he asked, confident in the time he’d spent with Vehnrix. Much more than Astarion had, he was sure of that. It wasn’t the elf’s bedroll that nudged closer and closer to Vehnrix’s every night.</p>
<p>“Oh darling,” Astarion replied, voice dripping with his own confidence. “Of course I could.”</p>
<p>Astarion didn’t wait for a reply before walking away and leaving Gale on his own again. Letting the elf have the last word was fine by him; he wasn’t one to rise to his bait and taunting. Besides, by now the tiefling children had run off and Vehnrix was alone in the center of the cavern. There were better things to do than stand and stew over the things Astarion had brought up.</p>
<p>When Gale reached Vehnrix he was sliding a dagger into his boot, tucking it back into the leather strap that kept it in place. He looked up and meet Gale’s eyes, his own glowing orange in the somewhat dim cavern. A smile instantly plastered over his face, momentarily stopping Gale’s heart. </p>
<p>He cleared his throat to snap his body back into action, then spread his hand out to motion towards the gaggle of tieflings now grouped together by the pools of water nearby. </p>
<p>“These children have known you less than three days and already they adore you.”     </p>
<p>“If only it were so easy with adults.” Vehnrix laughed and gave Gale a playful wink. He finished strapping his weapon in and stretched his legs out, then pat the ground next to him for Gale to join before continuing. “They’ve just been through a lot. They could use a little support, and some fun wouldn’t hurt either.”</p>
<p>“I can’t imagine,” Gale said as he sat in the dust and rock. He looked over the tieflings and watched them dig and splash around in the water for moment. “Children should be out there enjoying their lives, not worrying whether the next time they step outside they’ll be faced with a pack of goblins or bitten by a snake.”</p>
<p>Vehnrix looked out to the children, too. Or maybe past them. His eyes seemed far away, like they were seeing some distant spot on the horizon, or through a thick fog of time and memory. He spoke without looking back, his lips moving slowly and hesitantly, sharing a part of him he perhaps hadn’t expected to speak of. </p>
<p>“I grew up a lot like this, actually. Me and my dad on the road, sometimes alone, sometimes with other tieflings. It’s rough. Always being hungry and exhausted. Scared. You try and make the best of it, like these kids…” Vehnrix swallowed, his throat bobbing with a lump of emotion Gale could hear coat his words. “But you’re on guard all the time. It’s no way to grow up.”</p>
<p>Gale wanted to reach out to Vehnrix, to place his hand on his shoulder or his knee or lace their fingers together. He wanted to comfort him in some way, to ease whatever pain the memories brought with them. He lifted his hand, an action harder now than it had been in the past. </p>
<p>“I’m going to help them.” Vehnrix’s voice gave him pause, and Gale lowered his hand back to his side. Vehnrix didn’t need comfort; he needed support in his choice. “This tadpole can wait, I don’t care what the others say.”</p>
<p>“Then I’m going to help them too,” Gale said with a firm nod of his head. Vehnrix turned back to him then, and the soft smile on his face only reinforced his decision. “We may have to fend off Lae’zel trying to murder us for wasting time, but we’ll make sure these little devils are safe.”</p>
<p>Vehnrix reacted in the fluid, easy way he had, his hand grasping Gale’s and squeezing it tight before he could even register the movement. “Thank you, Gale.” </p>
<p>The only answer Gale could give was a returned smile. It wasn’t solely Vehnrix’s determination to help the tieflings that swayed him. He didn’t want to see them suffer either. Any of them, the children and adults alike. Their other companions may be more willing to move on and pursue their own ends, but Gale felt a tug to help these people. He was relieved Vehnrix was of the same mind. </p>
<p>They sat a moment without speaking, the babble of the tieflings echoing faintly off the cavern walls. Vehnrix didn’t take his hand away, and Gale was content to let him hold it. His skin was warm — warmer than any humans Gale had felt. It radiated a comfortable heat that spread up his arm and settled in his chest. </p>
<p>After a while he nudged Vehnrix’s shoulder with his own.</p>
<p>“So, let’s hear it. What had the kids fawning over you?”</p>
<p>“I wouldn’t call it fawning,” Vehnrix said with a chuckle. “I was showing Mattis a few tricks I’ve picked up on. He’s way better than I was at his age. Probably best to watch your pockets with that one.”</p>
<p>There was a distinct hint of awe in Vehnrix’s voice. He turned fully to Gale and gestured with his hands, pointing out another tiefling child by the water. “Oh, and Mirkon? That’s the boy that was by the harpies — he wrote a story about it. I’m going to keep it so when he’s older and writing books I can gloat about it.”</p>
<p>Gale couldn’t help but grin at the excited way Vehnrix went on about the kids. It was strikingly clear he cared a great deal about them already.</p>
<p>“A wise choice,” he said. “I’d like to read it sometime. I assume you’re painted as the brave, handsome hero of the story?”</p>
<p>“Handsome?” Vehnrix’s grip on Gale’s hand tightened as he raised his eyebrows. “You can read it tonight, if you want. You know where I’ll be.”</p>
<p>“Yes, I think I do,” Gale said, and was bold enough to rub his thumb along the back of Vehnrix’s hand. He tilted his head and glanced quickly at where Astarion had wandered off to after their previous conversation. <em>Yes,</em> Gale thought, he was confident he had little competition for Vehnrix’s affection. “You’ll be slightly closer to me than last night, and the night before?”</p>
<p>“That’s right,” Vehnrix confirmed with an answering grin. “You know, we could —“</p>
<p>“Vehn!” One of the young tiefling’s voice carried through the cavern, interrupting their conversation. Vehnrix broke eye contact and looked over to where they were gathered. “Come here and see what Doni found!” </p>
<p>Gale kept his sights on Vehnrix, and when he turned back he gave him a curious look. </p>
<p>“Vehn?”</p>
<p>“A lot of people call me Vehn.” He shrugged, then seemed to think before his expression transformed into something dangerously alluring. “Are you jealous?”</p>
<p>It took Gale a moment to remember how to breathe. The cavern felt suddenly much too warm, and Vehnrix much closer than Gale remembered from just a second before. The heat of his palm was nearly searing now, but disappeared almost as soon as he noticed the change, as Vehnrix slipped his hand away. </p>
<p>“Not at all,” Gale answered, and shook his head in what he hoped looked like disappointment. “Not very creative, though. I can do better than that.”</p>
<p>“Oh yeah?” Vehnrix stood and stepped around him, as if to walk to the tieflings. He paused at Gale’s side and leaned in, carefully moving a lock of hair away his ear. He could feel Vehnrix’s lips when he spoke next, moving against the feverish heat of his skin. “Do your best, babe.”     </p>
<p>Gale opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. The heat from his hand spread up and across his face, leaving his cheeks blush stained in a way he couldn’t remember them ever being before. Vehnrix just laughed and waved as he walked away, his tail flicking from side to side behind him. </p>
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